Leather-buffing machine.



J. R. SCOTT.

LEATHER BUFHNG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. |909= 1 ,147,819, Patented July 27, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

lA/lTA/[SSESZ Mt W.

l. R. SCOTT.

LEATHER BUFFING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8. 1909.

Patented July 27, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. R. SCOTT.

LEATHER BUFFING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8. I909.

Patented July 27, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 UN ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB B. SCOTT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, OF PA'I'EBSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

LEATHEB-BUFFING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jacon R. Soon, a citizen of the United States,residlng at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain Improvements in Leather-Bulfing Machines, of whichthe following description, 1n connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicatinglike parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to leather builing machines and is herein shownembodied in a machine primarily intended for use in conncction with themanufacture of boots and shoes to bufl articles of leather, such, forexample, as soles, box toe pieces, counter stifl'eners, and the like.

Heretofore in leather bufiing machines, it has been proposed to employ abailing tool arranged to be given a compound movement so that differentportions of the acting surface of the tool travel in intersecting pathsin the operation of the machine. By giving the bufiing tool a compoundmovement a very smooth surface is imparted to the work and liability ofdust collecting upon the tool and glazing over the abrasive surface ofthe tool is lessened, thus prolonging the life of such surface. In sofar as I am aware, however, in the previous machines of this type it hasbeen necessary for the operator to manually hold the work in operativeengagement with the bufling tool and to move the work along the surfaceof the tool to present different portions of the work to its abrasiveaction, This method of procedure has rendered necessary the expenditureof considerable energy upon the part of the operator and the output ofthe machines has been low, as compared with buffing machines in whichthe work is automatically fed to the buifing tool.

An object of the present invention is to provide a leather boilingmachine of the above type which shall be free from the objectionsmentioned.

A further object of the invention is to improve generally theconstruction of leather butting machines.

\Vith these and other objects in view a feature of the present inventionconsists in the provision in a leather butling machine having a buffingtool arranged to be given a compound movement of means for controllingthe position of the work as it passes across the face of the boilingtool having provision for preventing displacement or movement of thework in directions other than that in which it is fed to the tool. Inaccordance with a convenient way of carrying out this feature of theinvention there is provided means for holding the work in engagementwith the tool as it passes over its surface, which is constructed toprevent displacement of the work away from its proper path of movementrelative to the tool, such, for example, as might be caused by theinfluence of the moving tool upon the work. Preferably yielding meansare employed to hold the work in engagement with the buffing tool, as bythe provision of such means the surface of the article to be boiled isbrought into proper operative relation to the butting tool and ismaintained in such relation during the operation of the tool so that thedesired amount of material is removed from said surface regardless ofvariations in the thickness of the article or irregularities in itssurface. Preferably also the means for yieldingly holding the work incontact with the buffing toolcomprises a body of yielding material suchas rubber which is adapted to yield to the pressure of the Work andallow the article to be bent or distorted if necessary as it is pressedinto the material so as to bring the surface to he landed into properposition relative to the bufling tool. By the provision of a body ofyielding elastic material arranged to press the work against the buflingtool any liability of displacement or movement of the work in adirection other than that in which it is fed across the surface of thetool is obviated as the work sinks into the yielding material, so as toprevent objectionable displacement. Preferably with the means forpressing the Work against the bufiing tool there is employed a rigidgage member arranged to coiiperate with the work pressing means to holdthe work in proper position to be acted upon by the buffing tool. Thisgage member is arranged for engagement with the side of the work that isto be boiled, and the work pressing means is adapted to press the Workinto engagement with the gage member as well as the buffing tool. \Viththis arrangement the gage member serves as a former and determines theposition of the surface of the article that is to be bufl'ed,maintaining this surface in proper position relative to the bufling toolso that the proper amount of material is removed therefrom regardless ofvariations in the thickness of the article. The employment of a gagemember in this connection is further advantageous as with its use thework is pressed between the work pressing means and said gage member sothat displacement or movement of the work in directions other than thatin wh1ch 1t is fed across the face of the tool is effective] prevented.I

In the embodiment of the invention hereafter described the bufling toolcomprises a rotary bufiing roll arranged to be longitudinallyreciprocated as it operates so that differentportions of the actingsurface of the tool travel in intersecting paths. The work is held inoperative relation to the bufling roll by a presser roller which is alsoemployed to feed the work across the face of the bufiing roll. For thereasons previously given a yielding presser roller 1s preferablyemployed and to this'end said roller is formed with a body of yieldingelastic material such as rubber. gage member is arranged to cotiperatewith the presser roller to position the work in proper operativerelation to the buliing roll and this {member is preferably arranged toact as a work support to support the articles to be buffed in properposition to enable them to be fed between the presser roller and thebufiing roll. Preferably the gage member comprises a work supportingplate which is mounted for adjustment in a vertical direction toward andfrom the presser roller and also along the line of feed of the work inorder that the plate may be positioned 'to insure that the work will besubjected to the proper degree of pressure as it passes between thepresser roller and said plate.

A further feature of the present invention consists in the provision ofa brush arranged 'to clean the bufied surface of the work and means forholding the work in engagement with the brush so that liability of thework becoming displaced out of cflective relation to said brush isavoided. Preferably a rotary brush is employed which is arranged torotate in a direction tending to assist the feed of the work, and a roll'mounted to'rotate freely is arranged to hold the work in contacttherewith.

In acordancc with a further feature of the invention there is provided aguard arranged between the bufiing roll and the brush. With thisarrangement particles of matter removed from the work by the buffingtool are prevented from being thrown upon the brush, and thereafterdistributed by the brush over the work.

Other features of the invention will be hereinafter described in thespecification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a machineembodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation ofthe machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the upperpart of the machine; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing theconstruction of the 11 per portion of the machine.

Re erring to the drawings, 2 designates the bufling roll which may be ofany suitable construction. The bufling roll shown comprises a suitablebody portion having a removable covering of abrasive material and beingsecured in any suitable way upon a horizontal shaft 4: which is mountedin bearings carried by the side plates 6. The shaft 4 is arranged to berotated and longitudinally reci rocated by means to be hereinafterdescri ed. W'ith this movement of the shaft 4 the bufl'mg roll is givena compound ahrading movement such that different portions of its actingsurface travel in intersecting paths, the result being that a. verysmooth surface is imparted to the work acted upon by the tool. The sideplates 6 rest upon a base plate 8 and are secured thereto by bolts 10,the said base plate 8 being secured upon the top portion of a casting 12comprising the base of the frame of the machine.

The resser roller 14 is arranged above the bu g roll and comprises asleeve 16 of yielding elastic material, such as rubber, mounted upon ametal core 18 secured upon a horizontal shaft 20 mounted in tubularsleeves 22 which are carried by blocks 2a slidably mounted in verticalguideways 26 formed in the side plates 6. The blocks 24 are yieldinglypressed toward the buffing roll by means of springs 28 confined betweenthe blocks and the lower ends of adjusting screws 30 threaded in cappieces 32 extending across the top portions of the guideways 26 andsecured to the side plates 6. The movement of the presser roller towardthe butting roll is limited by rods 34, extending upwardly from theblocks 24 through vertical openings in the adjusting screws 30 andhaving nuts 36 secured by threaded engagement thereon adapted to engagethe tops of the screws 30 and limit downward movement of said blocks. Byadjusting the nuts 36 the presser roller may bcHadJuSted toward and fromthe bufiing r0 The work support comprises a flat plate BSwhich isarranged to support the work in position to be fed between the presserroller and the buliing roll and to cooperate with the presser roller toposition the work in proper relation to the bufiing roll. The plate 38extends into close proximity to the surface of the presser roll so thatthe article to be bufl'ed is pressed between the roll and the said plateand its lower surface brought into a osition to be acted upon by thebuil'- ing ro The position of the lower surface of the article isdetermined by the plate 38 which is adapted to act as a gage plate tomaintain the article in position to be operated upon, re ardless ofirregularities in its shape or thicdmess. The work supporting plate 38is arranged for vertical adjustment toward and from the periphery of thepresser roller and for adjustment in the direction of the line of feedof the work in order that the plate may be so positioned that the workwill be subjected to the proper degree of ressure as it passes betweenthe presser rol er and said plate. To this end the plate 38 isadjustably secured upon the top of a support 40 by machine screws 42extending through slots in the plate and into the support, the slotsbeing so arranged that upon loosening the screws the work supportingplate may be adjusted relatively to its support in the direction of theline of feed of the work. The support 40 is mounted upon the top of a.vertical plate 43 which is removably clamped against vertical surfacesri formed on the frame of the machine as by means of bolts 46 extendingthrough vertical slots in the plate 43 and tapped into the frame of themachine. The vertical plate 43 is provided at its lower edge with twolugs *8, arranged on opposite sides thereof, through which vertical adjusting screws 50 extend, said screws having their lower ends bearingagainst the base plate 8 of the machine. With this arrangement byturning the screws 50 the vertical plate 43 may be adjusted verticallyand consequently the work supporting plate 38 which is carried therebymay be adjusted vertically toward and from the periphery of the presserroller. The presser roller serves also as a feeding roller and meanshereinafter described are provided for rotating this roller so as tofeed the work. Means are also provided for rotating the butting roll ina direction opposite to that of the presser roller but at a, much higherrate of speed than the latter.

The brush for cleaning the bufl'ed surface of the work comprises arotary brush 52 secured to a shaft 54 which is arranged to be rotated ina direction such that the brush assists in feeding the work by mechanismhereinafter described. The shaft 54 is mounted in bearing blocks 56which are arranged in guideways formed in the side plates 6 of themachine. Each of the side plates 6 of the machine. Each of the blocks 56is provided with a threaded rod 58 which extends downwardly therefromthrough openings formed in the bottom walls of the guideways and intorecesses 60 arranged below the guideways. A pair of nuts 62 and 63threaded upon each of the rods 58 and arranged to engage the top andbottom surface of each recess 60 serve to secure the blocks 56 inadjusted position. \Vith this construction the blocks 56 may be adjustedvertically to bring the brush into proper position to clean the lowersurface of the work after the latter has passed between the presserroller and the bufling roll.

To hold the work in operative engagement with the brush during itsmovement thereover there is provided a freely rotatable roller 62arranged substantially over the brush. The roller 62 is secured upon ashaft 64 rotatably mounted in bearings carried by a bar 66 which isprovided at its ends with transverse projections 68 having split clamps70 by which the projections are respectively clamped upon the tubularsleeves 22 in which the shaft of the presser roller is journaled. Uponloosening the clamps 70 the bar 66 may be swung about the sleeves 2:2 asan axis to place the roller 62 in adj usted position relative to thebrush and the roller may be held in this position by tightening the saidclamps.

In buffing leather articles it is sometimes desirable to bufi' only aportion of the article, as for example, in operating upon leather solesit is customary to bufi' only the forepart and shank, leaving the heelpart unbufied. Accordingly, the present machine has provision whereby aportion of the work may be passed through the machine without beingbufi'ed and thereafter the remaining portion of the work brought intooperative relation with the buifing tool. In accordance with aconvenient construction there is provided means under the control of theoperator for moving the presser roller away from the binding roll inorder that the ortion of the work which is not to be bufi'e may bepassed by hand between the presser roller and the bufiing roll and outof operative contact with the latter, the construction being such thatthereafter the presser roller may be lowered to press the remainingportion of the work into operative contact with said bailing roll.

The means for raising the presser roller comprises a suitable treadle 72connected by a pair of links 74, one upon each side of the machine, withthe front ends of levers 76 pivoted at their middle portions upon opposite sides of the base plate 8, the links 78 pivotally connecting theinner ends of the levers 76 with the blocks 24 which carry the presserroller. With this construction it will be seen that upon pressing thetreadle 72 the presser roller will be raised in opposition to thesprings 28 and upon releasing the treadle said springs will move thepresser roller into operative relation to the boiling roll.

In order that the particles of matter removed from the work by thebufiing tool may not be thrown by said tool on to the brush andthereafter distributed by the brush over the work, there is provided aguard arranged between the bufiing tool and the brush. This guard ispreferably formed of sheet metal and comprises a portion 80 curvedaround the front and lower surface of the brush and a horizontal part 82sustained slightly below the line of feed of the work by oppositelvextending projections 84 secured to the si e portions 86 of a worksupporting table 88 that is supported at the rear of the hufiing rollbetween the side plates 6 and over which the work passes after it hasbeen acted upon by the bufling roll. With this arrangement particles ofmatter removed from the work by the bufiing roll may be drawn downbetween said roll and the guard by the suction apparatus to behereinafter described so that the brush is protected to a considerableextent from said particles. If for any reason an article becomesdeflected downwardly after passing between the presser roller and thebuffing roll the horizontal portion 82 of the guard will, in such case,serve as a support for the article so as to insure its passage betweenthe brush and the auxiliary roller in its movement through the machine.

The suction apparatus for conveying away the fine dust produced by theaction of the butling roll upon the work comprises an exhaust fan 90mounted in a suitable casing. This casing is located at the rear of thebrush, and the side adjacent the brush is provided with openings throughwhich the dust may pass. The work supporting table 88 which is arrangedabove the casing has a plurality of slits 94 formed therein throughwhich air may be drawn downward by the fan. This construction insuresthat a sufficient volume of air will be drawn through the machine toconvey away substantially all of the particles of matter removed fromthe work by the buffing roll. The fan 90 is secured upon a horizontalshaft 96 which is rotatably mounted in bearings formed in the fan casingand driven at a high rate of speed by means hereinafter described.

The mechanism for rotating the buffing roll comprises a pulley 97secured upon the end of the buliing roll shaft 4, a pulley 98 upon thepower shaft 100 of the machine and a belt passing over these pulleys. A.belt tightening pulley 102 positioned to engage the face of the drivingbelt of the buffing roll is arranged to be adjusted by a hand lever 104to impart the proper tension to the belt. For rotating the presser andfeed roller there is provided a sprocket 106 secured upon the powershaft 100, a large sprocket 108 secured upon a horizontal shaft 110journalcd in the frame of the machine, a chain passing over thesesprockets, a pinion 112 secured upon the end of the shaft 110, a gear114 meshing with said pinion and secured upon the end of a horizontalshaft 116 journaled in the frame of the machine, a sprocket 118 securedupon this shaft, a sprocket 120 rotatably mounted upon a stud 122secured in one of the side plates 6, a chain passing over thesesprockets, a small sprocket 124 arranged upon the stud 122 for rotationwith the sprocket 120, a sprocket 126 secured upon the end of thepresser roll shaft and a chain connecting these sprockets.

The mechanism for rotating the brush and fan comprises a pulley 128secured upon the end of the power shaft, a pulley 130 secured on therush supporting shaft, a pulley 132 secured upon the fan shaft and abelt passing over these pulleys. This belt also passes around a belttightening pulley 134 which may be adjusted by a hand lever to tightenthe belt.

The power shaft 100 is provided with the usual fast and loose pulleys136 and 138 and a belt shifter 140 arranged to be actuated by a treadle142 is preferably provided for throwing the driving belt from one to theother of said pulleys to start or stop the machine.

To impart a lon itudinal reciprocating movement to the buffing rollthere is secured upon the end of the shaft 116 a cam disk 144 having acam slot that receives a roller 146 carried by the lower end of a camlever 148 pivoted intermediate its ends between lugs 150 projecting fromthe frame of the machine. The upper end of the lever 1 18 is forked andeach arm of the fork is provided with rollers 152 arranged to projectinto a peripheral groove 154 formed in a disk carried by the end of thebufling roll shaft. With this construction the buffing roll reciprocateslongitudinally as it rotates, so that different portions of its actingsurface travel in intersecting paths.

The machine is preferably provided with a guard 156 arranged to preventcontact of the operators hands with the presser roller, said guard beingsupported upon the plate 38 as shown in Fig. 2.

The 0 eration of the machine has been fully in icated in the abovedescription of the construction and arrangement of its various parts andwill be readily understood without a separate description thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 1. A leather bufling machine having, incombination, a bufling roll, means for reciprocating said roll. aprcsser roll having a yielding surface and arranged to press the workagainst said buifing roll, means for rotating said rolls at differentvelocities, and means for distorting the work and forcing the distortedportion into the presser roll.

2. A leather buffing machine having, in

combination, a buffing roll, means for rotat- 'ing and reciprocatingsaid roll, a rotary presser roll having a yielding facing and arrangedto press the work against the buffing roll, and meansfor forcing thework along a narrow area into said yielding facing whereby an undulationis formed in said yielding facing and caused to travel about theperiphery thereof.

3. A leather bufiing machine, having in combination, a rotary abradingdevice, a yielding presser roller for pressing the work into operativerelation thereto, a brush ar ranged to clean the surface of the workafter it has been'buffed, an auxiliary roller arranged to hold the workin engagement with said brush and means whereby said presser roller andsaid auxiliary roller may be simultaneously adjusted toward and from theabrading device and the brush respectivcly. r V

4. A leather buflin machine, having in combination, a rotary uflingdevice, a presser roller for holding the work in operative relationthereto, a rotary brush arranged to clean the surface of the work, anauxiliary roller for holding the work in contact with the brush andmeans for rotating said brush in a direction tending to assist the feedof the work.

5. A leather bufling machine having in combination a rotary bufiing rollarranged to be longitudinally reci rocated as it rotates, a presser rollof yielding material arranged tween the rolls close to the bite thereofand ada ted to produce an undulation in the stoc and to force saidundulation into the yielding'material of the presser roll during thefeeding movement.

7. A leather buffing machine having in combination, a bufiing roll,means for rotating and reciprocating said roll, a presser roll having ayielding surface andarranged to press the work against the bufling roll,and a worktable having its edge in close proximity to the surface of thepresser roll,

.saidta'ble being inclined at such an angle that the plane of itssupporting surface intersects said presser roll but does not intersectsaid abrasive roll.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB R. SCOTT.

Witnesses:

, ALLAN H. BARROWS, BERNARD Bannows.

Correction in LettersPatent No. 1,147,819.

It. is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,147,819, grantedJuly 2,, 1915, upon the application of Jacob R. Scott, of Boston,Massachusetts, for an improvement in Leather-Bufling Machines, an error,appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows:Page 3, lines 57-58, strike out the sentence Each of the side plates 6of the machine; and that the said Letters Patent should be read withthis correction therein that the same may conform to the record of thecase in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of February, A. 1)., 1916.

[sun] R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner qf Patents. Cl. 5 1 1 7n

